State of The Union Address

I’m watching President Obama’s first State of The Union Address. I really can’t believe it. He’s presented a bunch of ideas with no legislation to support them:

• $10,000 tax credit for four years of college tuition.
• Double exports in 5 years
• Several more I can’t remember

On a side note, watching “Stretch” Pelosi grinning like the Crypt Keeper behind him makes me want to vomit.

Teleprompter Shot of The Day

Here's Obama dropping in for a chat with his middle-class task force. And people made fun of Reagan because of his notecards!


This picture was stolen from www.nationalreview.com

Disney/Pixar's UP Blu-Ray - second disc won't play

I just got "UP" on Blu-Ray, and put the "Special Features" disc in my PlayStation 3. No dice.

It loops at the dog with the wagging tail - endlessly. I sent an email to Disney's Blu-Ray support team, and I'm waiting for a response.




UPDATE: They're sending me a pre-paid label so I can mail them the disc. If they determine it's "defective", they'll send me a replacement.

Michelle Obama and Scott Baio

Apparently Scott Baio tweeted a picture of Michelle Obama with the caption "WOW He wakes up to this every morning." Here's the picture:


Yikes. No further comment necessary.

Donate to the Red Cross through iTunes

In the wake of the Haiti Earthquake tragedy, there’s been a lot of media coverage about donating to the American Red Cross via text message.  While that’s a clever method, and apparently it’s generating a lot of donations, I stumbled across another method that I think is likely to get the money there faster.

Did you know you can donate via iTunes?  Click the button below to donate to the American Red Cross via iTunes (it will open iTunes on your computer):

I’ve already donated.  You should too.

ASUS CG5290-BP009

Around a month ago, my primary business computer died.  It was a top-tier consumer HP Pavilion Elite.  It was the second to “die” within 1 year of purchase.  The prior HP desktop was also an “Elite” HP.  Both started having weird problems that weren’t windows-related, but brought the machines to a halt within moments, with virtually no advance warning.  I think it’s because HP is putting Samsung hard disks in their desktops.

As a result, I knew I needed to get a new one quickly but didn’t want to give HP more money.  I could’ve ordered from Dell, but needed a working machine within 24 hours, so ordering it wouldn’t do.  I was able to use one of the notebooks to do invoices and such, but needed to get my Outlook and iTunes (more for iPhone than music) back up on a “permanent” machine.  I can’t load up all that stuff on a notebook.

So, I went and spent about $1,400 on an ASUS desktop:

I got it up and running within about a day, and transferred all my files to it within about 3 days.  Over the last month, I’ve gotten almost everything I need on it and configured the way I like it.

This thing is a beast.  I couldn’t be happier with it.  Now let’s see how I feel about it a year from now…

AVATAR: Film Review

I watched Avatar a few days after Christmas. I was spellbound. The story was interesting, but what I was more impressed with was the visuals. They were outstanding. One frequent complaint about CGI anthropomorphic characters is that they don't really look lifelike. This was absolutely not the case here. Apparently they did motion capture for the actors and matched the movements (including eyes, expressions, and mouth movements) to the actors. The result was amazing. I had read reviews that said that Cameron "raised the bar" with this film, and figured it was just hyperbole. It wasn't. The emotion shown on screen with these characters is remarkable. As lines are delivered, it really looked like the CGI character delivered the line. It's been said that this was the most expensive film of all time. Every dime was on the screen. Go see this film in a theater. Don't wait for a retail release.

Lunchbox Laboratory, part II

I just made a return trip to Lunchbox Laboratory - this time I brought my Dad.

He's a "basic" burger guy, no bacon, raw onions, etc. Here's his "custom" burger:














Louie got something called "The Smoker", which included a 1/2-inch stack of smoked bacon and havarti cheese:


Of course, Louie failed and couldn't finish his. But he gets to enjoy it later...

I got the "Homage to Dick's Deluxe", which didn't disappoint:



I think this place is fantastic. I wish they had a Los Angeles location. Until then, I get my once-or-twice-a-year fix here in Seattle.

Al Franken is a disgrace

Chris Dodd, Barney Frank: Officially Sons-of-Bitches

Fantastic GPS mount

Since getting the "new" car, I've been using a "bean bag" type mount for the GPS. I didn't like it, but like the suction-cup-on-the-windshield mount even less. Also, the bean bag mount put the GPS in such a position that it would reflect off the windshield at night, which made for a constant annoyance if I needed to use it after dark.

I found an alternative that worked wonderfully. In this new position, the GPS screen doesn't reflect off the windshield, but it's at a perfect viewing position, and easily within my reach. I bought a custom-made mounting bracket (basically a small, bent and drilled piece of sheet metal with a ball on the end) from the geniuses at Pro.Fit International. They even sell a simple plastic tool to allow me to pop the console off without scratching it. It required minor drilling (but the two small holes are hidden under the console if the mount is removed) but the results are outstanding. Witness the new mount below:Now I just have to find a way to secure/conceal the cord a little better...

Blocked Caller ID

I know when Caller ID first came out, many people freaked out and voiced privacy concerns. But the truth is, if you're the caller, why would you want to mask your number unless you're up to no good?

I don't know why people still have their number blocked. It's stupid. Some people aren't even aware that their number is blocked.

UNBLOCK YOUR NUMBER PERMANENTLY. The people you're calling will appreciate it.

So how many jobs did you say we’d save???

Suspect sought in acid attack on South L.A. woman -- latimes.com

Suspect sought in acid attack on South L.A. woman -- latimes.com

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Angelina Jolie – 5 Magazine Covers??

I saw this at the market today:

5 different magazines have her on the cover at the same time?  Does she really boost sales that much?

No comment necessary...

9/11 Trials to be held in NY

The 5 surviving known 9/11 conspirators, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, will be tried in CIVILIAN CRIMINAL court. This means that since some of them were "tortured" some evidence will likely be inadmissible in court.

This is a mistake for several reasons. These people are not U.S. Citizens, and therefore have no right to the protections offered by our Constitution. They are enemy combatants, and as such should be tried in MILITARY court. The methods used to interrogate them were necessary. They participated in the worst attack on American soil in history. Any information that was obtained from them should have been obtained by any means necessary.

This trial will go on for YEARS, and cost untold millions of dollars to taxpayers.  More importantly, the civilian criminal trial system is designed to protect the accused from unjust prosecution.  The defense lawyers will use every tool available to game the system.  Though it may sound far-fetched, it’s even possible that some or all of them will walk free.

Make no mistake, although A.G. Holder made the announcement, this was President Obama's decision. Those of you who voted for this clown made a big mistake. This is yet one more piece of evidence to support my assertion.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jujZxVn--lj_j5uwTTzPRreHxX1gD9BUO2I00

Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood at the 2009 CMA's

Unemployment hits 10.2%

Just saw this on the news, and didn’t believe it.  I went to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website, and pulled up this:

Here’s a brilliant illustration of this (from June 2009):

I bought a new convertible notebook

I've been testing Windows 7 for a few months, but I installed it on an old machine, and that version is set to expire soon. I know I've got to get a lot more comfortable with Windows 7, and I don't want to mess with my primary work machine, which is Vista x64. I've also been eager to buy a convertible notebook. It's not that I really need another one - I already have several, but I guess call it a case of "gadget lust." So, to kill two birds with one stone, I went out and bought a new HP TouchSmart tx2-1375dx. It's got Windows 7 Professional x64, 4GB RAM, a 320GB Hard Disk, and a 2.2GHZ AMD Turion X2 with virtualization support. So far, I love it. Gadget porn to follow:

 

By the way, I posted this using Windows Live Writer.  Kinda cool.  It seems great for posting with greater control over the layout and content.